Philadelphia Eagle legend Lito Sheppard stops in and has a beer with us. During his playing career, he played in the NFL for ten seasons. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football for the University of Florida. He played for the Eagles for seven seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl three times. He also played for the NFL's New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, and Oakland Raiders. Lito, in addition to being a football God in Philly, is an avid car aficionado and lover of all things Philly. In this episode, Lito discusses his times in the NFL, NCAA, and his times hanging in the Philly bar and nightclub scene.

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CONTACT:

• Joe: [email protected]
• PJ: [email protected]

Earl Strickland is an American professional pool player who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. He has won over 100 championship titles and three world titles. In 2006 he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame.

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CONTACT: Joe: [email protected] PJ: [email protected]

Regan Fletcher Stephens a Philadelphia-based freelance journey and food writer. She has contributed to digital and print outlets, including Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, New York magazine, Fortune, People, Philadelphia magazine, Vogue, Edible Philly, Refinery29, Domino, Food52, Goodreads, and others. Regan is a legit foodie with a network that is as vast as her vocabulary.

This conversation is with Casey Parker. Casey is the restaurateur behind Jose Pistola's, Sancho Pistola's, and Pistola's Del Sur. To say Casey is unique is an understatement. Casey's gregarious personality and humor bleeds over into every detail of his three spots in Philly. His first location Jose Pistolas spiced up the Philly Bar Scene in 2007, and ever since then, he's been a Philly celebrity by being an amazing host and his blues singing.

Jim is a Food & Beverage lifer. Jim started out in NYC as manager of one of the busiest bars in Manhattan at a young age. Jim has spent decades in management in Food & Beverage in such places as TGI Friday's, Margaritaville, Iron Hill Brewery, Kildare's, and now is serving as a Regional VP of Operations for Bertuccis on the East Coast. Jim is an expert on Metrics Analysis and Leadership Principles.

At a very young age, Brandon Novak was signed to the acclaimed Powell Peralta skate team. At about this time, his drug and alcohol addiction began to blossom. Brandon grabbed fame in the notorious CKY, Jackass, and Viva La Bam pop culture revolution. Throughout all of this, his addiction became progressively worse. After 13 stints in rehab, Brandon finally surrendered on May 25, 2015, and has been clean and sober ever since. Brandon now works as an addiction specialist, author, documentarian, interventionist, and motivational speaker.

Mike Gretz started as a beer driver in the '70s and then joined Delco Beverage's sales department after college. The Gretz family has been in the beer business for over 150 years in one form or another; from brewing Gretz Beer to a major distributor for Anheuser Busch.n Mike became President of Gretz Beer from 1996 until its sale in 2018. Some of the industry boards Mike has served on included the National Beer Wholesalers Association, PA Beer Alliance, and the Center for Alcohol Policy. Mike was a member of the advisory boards for both New Belgium and Anheuser Busch. His charity boards have included Arthritis Foundation, Red Cross (SEPA), and UCP DelCo. Mike's presence is greatly missed in the beverage industry in the Greater Philadelphia Area where he brought a personal and genuine touch to each and every one of his accounts.

YOUTUBE EPISODE LINKS: See the full episode here: https://youtu.be/JHkOaGVu_34

SPONSORS: This is where you get listed when you give us money. (Please and thank you.)

CONTACT:

Joe: [email protected]

PJ: [email protected]

Ed McHugh is a liquor license attorney in Philadelphia, providing comprehensive legal representation and commercial guidance to clients in the restaurant/tavern, food service, and hospitality industries. He has vast legal experience assisting clients with the purchase or sale of a business, alcoholic beverage licensing at the state (PLCB) and federal (ATF) levels, purchase or lease of real estate, commercial lending/borrowing, and defense of enforcement actions against liquor licenses. He does this via citations, nuisance bar proceedings, or threatened revocation through other agency actions.

Chuck owns and operates the oldest Tavern in Delaware called Sullivan's Irish Pub at the Witherspoon. After being a college football player, Chuck earned his chops by bartending, managing, and then owning bars in Youngstown, Ohio. Chuck ultimately ended up back in the Philadelphia tri-state area, which he calls home. Chuck is one helluva storyteller and an even better operator. He shares his coming-of-age and colorful stories in this episode. One word that comes to mind with this gregarious owner: Publican.

Bob Cullen started out bartending in his early 20s in the Cherry Hill, NJ area. Bob's extensive career has spanned from being one of the youngest executives in Ceasar's Entertainment's history, becoming President of Food & Beverage at age 24, to being an F&B Consultant that is recognized as one of the premiere leaders in openings of large footprint operations. His projects include: the Trump Taj Mahal, Planet Hollywood, Parx Casino, Sugarhouse Casino, Hollywood Casinos, Margaritaville, and an endless list of independents. Bob and his company (Opening Solutions) specialize in property openings and is regarded as a titan in the industry.